Nothing about last season’s matchup between LeBron James and Dillon Brooks should indicate any sort of rivalry was formed. LeBron and the Lakers had their way with Brooks and the Grizzlies on the court, bouncing Memphis in the first round.
The way it played out only made Brooks look worse. He was woeful, never stopped talking, got ejected from a game and, eventually, watched the Lakers dance their way to a 40-point win in the closeout game.
But none of that logic has stopped Brooks. In the first meeting between the two in Houston, Brooks and the Rockets got the better against an undermanned and undersized Lakers team.